CHICAGO - North Dakota State was ranked No. 5 in the final Stats Perform FCS Top 25 media poll issued Monday, May 17, following the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.

A day after Sam Houston beat South Dakota State 23-21 in the title game, SHSU was the unanimous No. 1 pick ahead of No. 2 SDSU. They were followed by the two national semifinalists with James Madison ranked third and Delaware fourth.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference had five teams in the final poll including No. 6 North Dakota, No. 8 Southern Illinois and No. 13 Missouri State.

North Dakota State finished the 2020-21 season with a 7-3 overall record and placed fourth in the MVFC with a 5-2 record. The Bison advanced to the FCS quarterfinals for the 11th consecutive season.
 

Final 2020-21 Stats Perform FCS Top 25
	Team (First-Place Votes)	W-L	Pts	Prev
1.	Sam Houston (40)	10-0	1,000	4
2.	South Dakota State	8-2	958	2
3.	James Madison	7-1	918	1
4.	Delaware	7-1	859	5
5.	North Dakota State	7-3	827	6
6.	North Dakota	5-2	783	7
7.	Jacksonville State	10-3	732	8
8.	Southern Illinois	6-4	706	14
9.	Weber State	5-1	705	3
10.	Eastern Washington	5-2	630	9
11.	Monmouth	3-1	606	10
12.	VMI	6-2	572	11
13.	Missouri State	5-5	503	12
14.	UC Davis	3-2	405	13
15.	Richmond	3-1	402	15
16.	Villanova	2-2	356	16
17.	Kennesaw State	4-1	345	17
18.	Murray State	5-2	247	19
	Rhode Island	2-1	247	18
20.	Southeastern Louisiana	4-3	223	20
21.	East Tennessee State	4-2	155	22
22.	Sacred Heart	3-2	154	NR
23.	Austin Peay	4-5	153	21
24.	Alabama A&M	5-0	152	NR
25.	Nicholls	4-3	110	23

Dropped out: Arkansas-Pine Bluff (24), Northern Iowa (25)
 
Others receiving votes: Holy Cross 64, Northern Iowa 59, Davidson 31, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 30, Southern 19, Samford 16, Maine 12, Duquesne 8, Incarnate Word 3